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Natives bottle beloved brandy drink

One of Wisconsin's most beloved cocktails has finally reached the age-of-convenience as Clintonville natives Ryan Mijal and his uncle Timothy Pappin are producing bottles of brandy old-fashioneds.

The Journal Sentinel said the product made its debut in Milwaukee area stores last month, and one place was selling a six pack for just under $10. The old-fashioneds are both sweet and sour, and they're called "Arty's," named for the producers' first initials.

Pappin said the idea was to make the old fashioned as portable and convenient as a six pack of beer - something folks can enjoy while camping, fishing, or tailgating at a ball game. And Pappin said their old-fashioneds are real, and not devised from a mix.

The "Liquor Handbook" said people in Wisconsin drank 641,000 cases of domestic brandy last year, the second highest in the country behind California. For per-capita consumption, Wisconsin is second only to Washington D-C. And Gallo says Wisconsin has the nation's highest percentage of retail spending on brandy.